IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT!!

Hi again, everyone!

I recently created a tumblr blog where I am posting/reblogging photos and links that inspire me (along with appropriate doses of Amy Poehler, Zooey Deschanel, and feminism).

Please check it out and follow me!

taftisseamstress.tumblr.com

Happy Internet Surfing,

Taft WK

Days For Girls

Hello, my fellow crafty activists!

A few months ago, I found out about this organization called Days For Girls that makes washable/reusable menstrual health kits for girls and women around the world who don't have access to disposable feminine hygiene products. They have an ingenious systems, plus all their patterns and instructional videos are online and available to all!

I'm shipping out my first batch of shields and liners in a couple days and would encourage others to get involved too! It's an excellent way to give back, and what better way to give back than by sewing?

Happy Holidays!

Taft WK

Family Quilt

Do you remember the quilt I made for my mom last spring? Well, I wanted to make something similar for my grandparents, only with fabric from the whole family. Almost everyone sent me scraps of fabric and it was incredible all the things that poured in. Fabric from Ghana (where my grandma grew up), a textile my uncle brought back from Nicaragua, tie-dye t-shirts from my cousins, a BYU (many of my aunts and uncles have gone here, and its where my parents met!) shirt, fabric from a pair of pants my grandma helped my aunt make, flannel from the pioneer costumes my mom and her siblings wore as kids, blue sparkly sweater material, the "I'm a Big Sister!" shirt my cousin wore when her parents were expecting another child, camouflage, you name it and we had it. I even pitched in fabric left over from my skirt and a couple t-shirts I've made and some farming and camping prints I found at Peapod.

Same as before, I cut 5" by 5" squares, sewed them down on a huge piece of black cotton, and covered up all the seams with 5/8" ribbon.

For the back, I found this super-fuzzy, uber-snuggly, softer than three babies' bottoms, ridiculously plushy fleece. Did that successfully get across to you how soft it was? PEOPLE, I SWEAR TO OBAMA THE CLOUDS OF HEAVEN MUST BE MADE OUT OF THIS FABRIC. Now you get it?

I serged a loooooong (read: approximately 16 feet) strip of fabrics and used that as a border. Ties it all together nicely, dontcha think?

Here I am, presenting it to my grandparents at our family's Thanksgiving dinner:

During the dinner, I had everyone write their name and birthday in a square, except my grandpa, who used his for some college spirit ("Go Bears!") and my cousin who had quite a bit of fun scribbling in a couple of them.

Hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving (better late then never, eh?)

Taft WK

Roll-Up Pencil Case

Long time, no see, internet!

Winter Break and a lack of things to do (no homework!) had me itching for another project, so I pulled out the scrap buckets (yes, plural buckets) and got to work.

I wanted a new pencil case that would make it easier to find my colored pencils and decided on a roll up one with pockets:

The pockets are made with scraps, sewn into a 4"x20.5" panel. I then sewed it down to a 8"x30.5" denim panel (from an old pair of jeans), leaving enough space for a pencil between each seam. Next came a second 8"x30.5" panel and I serged the two together along the edge.

Button and elastic to keep it together all burrito-tight:

Happy Holidays!

Taft WK

Internship: Week 5: Cohesion

This was less of a technical week and more of looking at the design of my dress aesthetically.

The two side (front and back) of my dress weren't really cohesive, and so this week's lesson is:

You want to look like the same person from the front and the back. Seriously. Get with it.

Meaning, the front and back of your dress should be cohesive. They should look like they belong together.

I was having problems with pulling my dress together into one cohesive look. I'm chalking it up to being really stubborn about the first ideas that jump into my head, but I had to learn to let go and rethink what I was doing.

It doesn't mean my first ideas were bad (I actually saved all the patterns and will definitely use them later), it just means I needed to sit down and look at what I was designing, instead of jumping right up and doing whatever I thought of first. Sitting down with a cup of tea and a sketchbook led to better ideas than hastily pinning a mock-up ever could. I was able to focus on the whole garment and look a bit more closely at the lines/styling I had used earlier and how I could incorporate it more.

So, Patience Grasshopper. Just drink some tea and think it over.

-Taft WK

Internship: Week 3: Facing (The Noun, Not The Verb, Silly)

I learned another important sewing/designer lesson this week: That thing called facing.

It's what you put around collars and use to double-layer areas where there will be buttons. Pretty nifty, right?

Well, it took me a couple tries to figure out what exactly this whole "facing" deal was, but when I did, Hallelujah! This one is coming in handy in the future.

Here's a couple pictures of the facing on the inside of my dress:

And the pattern I used:

I was so happy with the end product! My dress is starting to feel more and more like something sold in a store!

Keep checking the blog! More from the Seamstress Chronicles will be up soon.
-Taft WK

Altered T-Shirts: San Francisco Is For Lovers

This is an oldie, but I finally tracked down all the pictures, so here we go...

I found this shirt at Thrift Town in the Misson District on an outing with my friends and LOOOOVE the design.

The thing is, it didn't fit very well and it smelled like an old cat lady's house. I know, bleh.

I found this t-shirt alteration project in one of my favorite crafting books and decided to use it for this amaze-balls shirt!

The buttons I picked out for this project (the flower one is actually two pieces, a small yellow button and this flower thing that I found a bunch of at Scrap)

I started by cutting it into a one shoulder top and taking in the side a bit.

I cut off the remaining sleeve and called upon old summer-camp-lanyard skills to braid 4 pieces of ribbon into a strap.

And there it is! Perfect for when SF has hot days (but who are we kidding? That only happens maybe 4 times a year.)

-Taft WK